R5-M2 was present inside Echo Base's central hangar, chirping melodiously, when Rebel accessory Han Solo returned from conducting a routine scouting mission of the base's exterior with CommanderLuke Skywalker, in which Skywalker ultimately went missing after falling prey to an ambush from a native wampa ice creature. The droid passed in front of Solo's path as the latter passed through the congested hangar.[4]

During the Battle of Hothdays later, R5-M2 played a small but pivotal role in helping the Rebellion successfully evacuate Echo Base immediately in the face of overwhelming Imperial assault. R5-M2, who was specially programmed to plot sublight tactical courses for space travel,[8] proved extremely valuable[1] by coordinating plans, providing tactical support to Valdez,[9] and planning evacuation routes from the base during the battle.[1]

The astromech droid R5-M2 became but another droid who played an invaluable role in the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the Empire[8] when the Rebellion effectively put R5-M2's special sublight course-plotting programming to good use during the Battle of Hoth. R5-M2 assisted in the Rebel escape from Hoth by planning evacuation routes from Echo Base.[1]

R5-M2's exterior plating included a black head and a blue-and-white color scheme. However, one of R5-M2's forward manipulator arms was missing from its body during its service time at Echo Base.[3]

The 1998Star Wars Encyclopedia, which contains a character entry for R5-M2, includes on the same page a picture of R5-A2,[10] an astromech droid from the film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.[11] The accompanying image caption of the R5-A2 picture misidentifies that droid as R5-M2, while the actual R5-M2 is pictured in an adjacent image with a caption identifying him simply as an "R5 unit." The Star Wars Encyclopedia does not include a character entry for R5-A2.[10]